IBM and Psion launch mobile alliance

IBM has announced a deal with mobile computing specialist, Psion, which takes it one step closer to the powerful Symbian alliance.

Big Blue will team up with Psion to create a range of mobile devices to be launched in the autumn, incorporating IBM's MQSeries messaging software, DB2 Everywhere database technology and the 340MB microdrive - the world's smallest hard disk.

John Palfreyman, IBM pervasive solution manager, said IBM chose to work with Psion because its Epoc operating system (OS) runs so well with Java. "Java systems are the way of the future," he said.

The deal is yet another boost for the Symbian joint venture between Psion, Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson and Matsushita. Since its launch a year ago, the alliance has attracted heavyweight support from across the industry. In October, a leaked memo written by Bill Gates named Psion as Microsoft's number one threat.

Claes Bergstedt, commercial director at Psion, predicted a rosy future for IBM and Symbian. "We will be working with IBM in the future," he said.

Palfreyman was more cautious. "IBM is device agnostic," he said. "We choose the right OS for the right customer business needs." He admitted the company is in talks with Symbian but was unable to give any details.

Dan Gardiner, analyst at Ovum, said the alliance is good news for Symbian. "There's a clear division between the Windows CE-based camp and Symbian. IBM has a long history with Microsoft, but has recently aligned itself with Ericsson and Nokia through the Bluetooth alliance."

The first product to come out of the alliance will be Psion's 100 per cent Java netBook in October, designed to allow mobile staff real-time access to information.